Carnivores   Pachydermata   Ongulates   Reptiles   Primates, rodents and others   Birds    Birds of prey    Terrestrial birds    Waders and water birds

Back to Waders and Water Birds

Common Teal

common teal, anas crecca, sarcele d'hiver, cerceta comun, wildlife of kenya, birds of kenya
Names, conservation status and distribution
common teal, anas crecca, sarcele d'hiver, cerceta comun, wildlife of kenya, birds of kenya
common teal, anas crecca, sarcele d'hiver, cerceta comun, wildlife of kenya, birds of kenya

The Eurasian teal, common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal (Anas crecca) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal.

It is a highly gregarious duck outside the breeding season and can form large flocks. It is commonly found in sheltered wetlands and feeds on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. The North American green-winged teal (A. carolinensis) was formerly (and sometimes is still) considered a subspecies of A. crecca.

In kenya it's a regular palearctic migrant Nov.-March, mainly above 1400 m on ponds in and west of Rift Valley ; occasional in Amboseli and Tsavo West NPs.